Written in the Stars

by Ali Harris

[Leah]

When I spotted Ali Harris’s third novel on Netgalley, I was quite excited – Ali’s a very popular author with plenty of great reviews and I thought Written In The Stars sounded like a fantastic read. I very much enjoy books where the main characters life is split into two and this one sounded particularly intriguing. After a couple of non-starts due to some issues with the file, I was finally pleased to download a correct copy, and I couldn’t wait to get stuck in.

Books like Written in the Stars are usually my favourite kind – I love seeing how someone’s path could have been different had they made a different decision. In this case, it’s the life of Bea Bishop, who on her wedding day to Adam sees the person she never thought she’d see again – her ex Kieran. It sends her into a tailspin and she finds herself fainting and when she wakes up Bea takes two different paths – in one, she goes ahead with the wedding and marries Adam and in the other, she flees the church unable to go through with it. It’s clever, very clever, but since the Prologue mentions Bea running away from her future husband, it kind of left out a bit of my mystique as to which life Bea was leading was the ‘real’ life. I got about half way through the book and I could see exactly how it all worked out and the moral of the story that I foresaw was disappointing, as it made it seem that what Bea did was somehow ‘right’.

I suppose that was my main issue with the novel – while I carried on reading it, and felt it was a stellar enough novel, I really struggled to like Bea. It’s clear from the off Bea has issues, issues which run very deep, and she has cause, don’t get me wrong, but I hated how passive she was – it says it all that the novel features both possible outcomes instead of sticking with just one! Bea was so indecisive, so unable to put her foot down and stick up for herself and while she does eventually grow a backbone, it was a bit too late for me. I can’t say I understand or know how it feels to have experienced what Bea experiences but I just wanted more from her, she seemed to let things in the past firmly impact her present. Stuff happens, that’s life, and while I didn’t expect Bea to get over her issues I would have just liked her to stop using her problems and her past as an excuse.

I really wanted to adore Written in the Stars, many people will fawn over it I’m sure, and there were definitely bits I liked. I liked Bea’s passion for gardening and all the accompanying gardening scenes – the garden that’s described that wins the Chelsea Flower Show in the book sounded utterly captivating! The letters from Bea’s dad were very sweet, and endearing. I very much liked Bea’s mum Loni despite her hippyish ways! Ali’s definitely a talented writer, I don’t dispute that at all, I just didn’t love Written in the Stars as much as I wanted to, although I did feel the ending really picked the pace up. I personally would have done without one of the fantasy lives. I would have stuck with one or the other and ran with it. Because it was sometimes confusing to figure out which life we were in – it’s not explicitly stated and the book jumps around a bit and overlaps a bit so it’s harder than it should be to keep everything straight. I expected more if I’m honest and I feel Dani Atkins did a better job with her novel Fractured.